More Than Half of UK Theatres and Music Venues Could Face Permanent Closure Due to the Health Crisis

Leaders in the creative arts industry in the UK say that half of all music venues and 70% of theatres in the UK could be facing permanent closure due to the health crisis, according to The Guardian.

"A lot of music venues are in city centres in sort of prime real estate," said Horace Trubridge, the general secretary of the Musicians' Union. "If they can't continue to make the money that keeps the doors open then I think their landlords will be thinking about doing something else with the properties. We could very easily lose half the music venues we have in the UK during this crisis if there isn't more permanent support for them."

"Our latest survey told us 70% of theatres or production companies will run out of cash, go out of business, by the end of this year," said Julian Bird, chief executive of UK Theatre and Society of London Theatre. "Unless there is a change in some of the government support you will see more and more theatres like Birmingham Hippodrome make difficult decisions about their workforce in order to preserve themselves."

Both men are calling on the government to provide financial help for the creative industries at this time, stating that 40% of members of the Musicians' Union don't qualify for either self-employment income support or furlough schemes.

Read the original story on The Guardian.

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